Armenians gather around a chasm in the mountain at a site called Dudan, near Diyarbakir, believed to be a mass grave of the Armenian Genocide, on 22 April. (photo: Ilyas Akengin/AFP/Getty Images)

After a century, Turks slowly take stock of Armenian Genocide(Der Spiegel) Officially, discussion of the Armenian genocide is taboo in Turkey, even 100 years after the crimes. But the issue is becoming harder for the country to suppress and many Turks are rediscovering their long-lost Armenian identities…

Maronite patriarch commemorates mass killings in Armenia(Daily Star Lebanon) “The centenary ceremony of the Armenian martyrs who were killed a hundred years ago is not just a liturgical ceremony, but a major event for the church and people of the East,” Maronite Patriarch Bechara Peter said at a dinner held by Lebanon’s Ambassador to Armenia Jean Maakaroun…

At least 42 dead in rebel-ISIS clashes near Damascus(Daily Star Lebanon) At least 42 fighters were killed in 24 hours of fierce fighting between Islamist rebels and ISIS in Syria’s Damascus province, an activist group said Wednesday. “At least 30 Islamist rebels and 12 fighters from ISIS were killed in fighting since Tuesday” in the hilly region of Qalamun, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said…

Holy See concerned about Israel-Palestine negotiations(Vatican Radio) The Holy See on Tuesday expressed its deep concern at the “total lack of progress” of the negotiations between Palestine and Israel. “As was recognized on that occasion, Israel has genuine and legitimate concerns for its security; however, such security will come not in isolation from its neighbors, but in being a part of them through a negotiated peace with the Palestinians through the implementation of the ‘two-state solution,’ which has the support of the Holy See and of the international community in general,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations…

A global surge in refugees leaves Europe struggling to cope(Washington Post) As Europe confronts a rapidly escalating migration crisis driven by war, persecution and poverty in an arc of strife from West Africa to Afghanistan, even high-level European officials are beginning to admit the obvious: The region’s refugee management system is broken. As a new crisis develops, the nations of Europe appear overwhelmed, belatedly scrambling to plug the gaping holes in their asylum system and contain what has become a full-blown humanitarian emergency…